Welcome to the AC Tropical Fish aquarium forum. Our aquarium forum is the place to discuss any aquarium related issue in a friendly environment. Our aquarium forum welcomes aquarists of all levels from beginners to experts. Please ask a question in the how to section of our forum or read the FAQ section if you have any questions. register to and become a part of our friendly aquarium forum community today.

Chiller Question

0

I live in Florida and it can be hot pretty much all the time.

Currently my 10gallon tank stays averaging about 78-80 F and about 82F during the summer. I just bought a 55gallon tank (whew) and I want to keep it at a nice 76 F. I'm considering buying a chiller as this is important to me....However, If I don't need to dish out $350 bucks to buy one, that would be nice.

Are there any alternatives? I can't just lower my house temp...Air conditioning bills are high as it is. I'm worried about just simply putting fans near it as I'm not sure if this will really keep it cool enough...

What fish are you planning to stock that require the tank to be kept at 76? Many of the fish we keep thrive at temperatures around 80-82.

Liters to Gallons conversion calculator
"Keeping fish for any period of time doesn't make you experienced if you're doing it wrong. What does, is acknowledging those mistakes and learning from them." ~Aeonflame
"your argument is invalid." ~Mommy1

Of all those fish, only the panda cories prefer a slightly lower temperature, though our tanks are usually slightly cooler on the bottom right near the substrate so they may be fine.

Liters to Gallons conversion calculator
"Keeping fish for any period of time doesn't make you experienced if you're doing it wrong. What does, is acknowledging those mistakes and learning from them." ~Aeonflame
"your argument is invalid." ~Mommy1

Panda cories really should not be kept in waters above 77, and Ideally should be kept below 76. They are fairly sensitive fish from the start, but above that temperature they become really stress prone, and also lose their appetite. Even the tiniest stressor can become fatal. This summer a series of heat waves, combined with an unfortunately timed bolivian ram spawn and a tank relocation saw me losing 8 out of 11 of my old cories.
You could go with sterbai cories though. They grow to about twice the size of pandas, have a spotted pattern and many people even keep them with their heat loving discus.

It won't make a huge difference, but using a HOB will allow some evaporative cooling of the tank water. I think you'll be ok without a chiller but may want to, as mentioned, select a different cory species.

Not certain how they compare specifically to Pandas, but Peppered corys like a temp below 77 or so based on my readings on various forums, so you may have the same issue. I have Peppered corys in two tanks and my summer house temp is between 77-80F all summer, the tanks stay at room temp until fall (just plugged my heaters back up in October). Haven't had any issues with my Peppered corys yet, had them for 3 years, bred them twice.